Every week, at every government primary school assembly, someone, often a student, will read an Acknowledgement of Country, recognising aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples as the original and traditional custodians of the land on which their school is built and paying respect to Aboriginal elders, past and present.

And every week, in almost every church those same primary school children might attend, they hear nothing.

My colleague Kaye Chalwell wrote recently about the ‘null curriculum’ in school programs: ‘the null curriculum refers to what schools choose not to teach; it is the things that are left out’. So what’s the null curriculum in relation to indigenous reconciliation in our churches and youth ministries?

When most other gatherings of people in contemporary Australia are following protocols that acknowledge the existence and significance of indigenous people and culture most of our churches seem to stand alone as the final bastion of terra nullius. I don’t imagine that we intend to teach that, but it’s the null curriculum at work.

Next week is National Reconciliation Week, as it is every year, from 27 May through to 3 June. 27 May is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census. 3 June is the anniversary of the 1992 High Court Mabo decision which paved the way to recognise Native Title land rights in Australia.

So what will be happening at your church and youth ministry to mark the occasion?

If history is anything to go by, and if the experience of the small group of students I polled at Youthworks College is any way representative, the event will probably pass unnoticed.

I guess we could say that our focus on the gospel means that we don’t want to interrupt the sermon series for a secular event. But it’s a bit hard to sustain that argument just three weeks after Mothers’ Day. Maybe we’d argue that Mothers’ Day has really valuable connections with the biblical emphasis on family so that’s why we pay attention to that celebration over some others. Though surely reconciliation has got some valuable connections with the biblical emphasis on, … well …, reconciliation.

I’ve given acknowledgement of country a handful of times in the past and must admit to feeling slightly awkward each time. Part of the awkwardness came from doing something unusual (at least in church circles), but there was also the vague feeling that I was being sucked into a contrived act of tokenism designed to assuage white guilt that had little real bearing on resolving the deep and complex challenges of race relations in this country.

What I hadn’t done was listen enough to the voices of indigenous brothers and sisters.  After asking and hearing from aboriginal Christians I’ve come to see the significance of the small recognition that this observation of protocol communicates.
All of our churches will teach something about National Reconciliation week, whether by our silence, or by our words and actions. What will you be teaching at your church?

More information on National Reconciliation Week can be found online. 

Perhaps one of these suggestions could be a place to start:

1. Start the service with an Acknowledgement of Country.

Ask one of the primary school children what the name of the local Aboriginal nation and people group is, or ring your local Aboriginal Land Council, primary school or council.
The people at St. John’s Glebe include an acknowledgement of country on each of their weekly service sheets and on their website; perhaps you could use these words in the service:
We at St. John’s acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and in particular the Gadigal people, as the first and traditional custodians of the land on which this Church and its buildings now stand; and we acknowledge our gratitude that we share this land today, our sorrow for the costs of that sharing, and our hope that we can move towards a place of justice and partnership together.

2. The new Common Prayer resource includes a prayer for indigenous Australians (p.79). Perhaps you could use this in the Sunday service.

Creator God, you made from one man all nations and determined where each should live.
We bring before you the indigenous people of Australia.
We acknowledge the history that has damaged the relationship between them and later arrivals to this land.
Thank you for the steps that have been taken on the journey towards reconciliation.
Deepen this process among us.
Guide national and community leaders to speak the truth in love, to seek justice with mercy and to care for those who are disadvantaged.
Strengthen indigenous church leaders to shepherd your flock faithfully, and strengthen all indigenous Christians to be salt and light in their communities and in the whole nation.
Give indigenous and non-indigenous believers grace to demonstrate the new family you are making in Christ out of people from every nation, tribe, language and people,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3. On Monday night, 27 May, Youthworks College students will be talking through the issues raised in an episode of the recent ABC TV series Redfern Now. Episode 4, ‘Stand Up’, explores issues of adolescent and aboriginal identity through the experiences of a 16 year old school boy and whether he ought to sing the National Anthem or not. There’s a language alert, so perhaps use this with a senior high school or young adults group.

4. Invite an aboriginal brother or sister to participate in the Sunday service. Interview them about their cultural and Christian experience. Invite them to lead the congregation in prayer. Ask an indigenous Christian elder to preach.

5. Invite local aboriginal elders to share in the service on Sunday. Pray for them and the needs of the local aboriginal community.

Feature photo: butupa